Tuesday, July 10, 2012

PackageMapping

Mashups

For those who have never heard of or are not quite sure what a mashup is...well let me just brief you on the details. A mashup is an application that combines web content from more than one source to create a single new service displayed in a single graphical interface. Originating from the pop music world where DJs mixed two or more songs together to present a blended new version, mashup phenomena has flourished to other media including maps, videos and photos; allowing users to view information in a different way.

There are many advantages of mashups like: the associated cost of application development is reduced greatly, they allow for rapid application development. Mashups also allow the reuse of existing applications and to development a mashup doesnt necessarily involve extensive IT skills.

Google and Yahoo along with other sites provide access to their data which makes it possible for developers to develop a variety of applications that combines multiple sources of data.

One mashup that I selected to integrate into my marketing campaign is the PackageMapping mashup. Using PackageMapping, customers can track UPS, FedEx, USPS and DHL packages with Google Maps and RSS feeds. Customers can order their products from the spa and will be able to see where their package is as it makes its way across the map and PackageMapping is free to the public.

The APIs including in this mashup is FedEx+Google Maps+UPS+US Postal Service.